


The Journey

by TILAgal



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Aged-Up Jean-Jacques Leroy, Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 14:43:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10414488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TILAgal/pseuds/TILAgal
Summary: JJ is on a journey around the world. He meets a bartender named Yuri in a dingy old pub in Russia.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in years and I also am new to posting here... I apologize for any mistakes in advance.
> 
> This pairing gets so much hate, it hurts me.
> 
> Everyone is aged-up.

It was nearly evening in Moscow, and the rain was rather heavy. The crowd on the streets were dwindling. The sound of a rusty old bell rang as the door opened, signalling the entrance of a customer into the dingy, old pub. The bartender looked up at the drenched stranger, his face showing mild surprise. So obviously a foreigner, with a soaked tourist map in his hand, designer sunglasses perched moronically on top of his wet head and a maroon cabin-sized luggage, the man looked extremely out of place in the local pub. Tourists were so rare in local hangouts like his workplace.

Despite his wet appearance, Jean-Jacques Leroy, nicknamed JJ, merrily strolled in and headed straight to the bar counter. His wet boots made weird squelching noises. “Hello, lady! A coffee with no sugar please!” he started his order in English, brow creasing as he noticed the glare from the bartender. The customers in the bar chattered in hushed excitement over the loud stranger.

“Ah… They don’t speak English…” JJ mumbled sheepishly under his breath. Pulling out his phone, he opened up Google Translate, and typed a few words in, before attempting to read out the words in Russian:

“Can you give me a coffee with no sugar, please?”

Staring at his phone, JJ managed out the terribly mangled sentence before winking at the staff behind the counter. “My lady,” he added, proud of himself for his accomplishment. He gained a few chuckles from the other customers seated at the counter for his display but ignored them, focusing his attention on the slim and petite blonde bartender.  
  
The bartender, who was in the midst of polishing several glasses, added a raised eyebrow to his glare, clearly unamused by the attempt at charming. He set the glass and cloth down to address the ridiculous customer.  
  
“Good sir, I am a guy,” the bartender informed him curtly in almost perfect English, his Russian accent making his words a little rough sounding. “And sorry, we don't serve coffee here. Not sure if you read the signage before entering, but we are a pub.” JJ’s eyes lit up as he heard the familiar language.  
  
“You can speak English!” He exclaimed, leaning even nearer to the not-miss, who was still in somewhat a judging mode. “Perfect! Sorry about that, you’re too pretty so I thought otherwise. Forgive me!” He guffawed, “Will you be my tour guide for Russia? It’s so hard to navigate around here!” He produced what seemed be a crumpled tourist map and showed it to his newly-recruited tour guide. “I want to visit these places, can you bring me around?”  
  
The other brow joined its raised twin in response to the requests being rattled on. The crowd in the pub chattered even more, eager to watch the showdown between their favourite bartender and the strange tourist man. Ignoring the almost compliment from the customer, the bartender snatched the tattered map out of the other’s hands and peered at it. The map was full of scribbles and faded circles, all gone from the rainwater. He recognized that some circled markings delineated places of interest in the area, but knowing the area did not mean he was going to willingly bring a random stranger around. He shook his head and returned the soaked map back to the boisterous customer.  
  
“Sir, as you can see, I’m a bartender. Not a tour guide. Please find others to bring you around. I have a job to do.” An obvious rejection, he turned away and moved to stack the highball glass he was polishing back onto the shelf. JJ’s shoulders slumped a little at the rejection, but he was not one to be prevented from getting what he wanted.  
  
“Hey! Wait! I’ll pay you, of course, is this enough?” He set his backpack down on the counter, and fumbled around the compartments. “Where is my money… Where is it… Ah-ha! Here’s your pay!”  
  
“I already said, I’m no-“ The bartender turned to reply him, but stopped midway, his narrowed eyes widening upon seeing the huge stack of cash waved in front of his face. _Holy shit_ , that wad of cash was thicker than both of the foreigner’s eyebrows combined. JJ knew he had won once he saw the faltering expression on the other’s face. Money did make the world go round. He grinned triumphantly, his method of ‘persuasion’ never failed to score himself tour guides everywhere he went. Save the time he got mugged by his then tour guide in Brazil. That was only once, though.

“The name is Jean, but you can call me JJ! I’m from Canada! This is my first time in Moscow.” JJ beamed and offered his hand to the bartender-turned-tour-guide. Said new tour guide was grimacing as he looked at the proffered hand and the grinning Canadian. He turned to his employer for help, but found no help as the owner of the pub was merely smirking in amusement at him from the other end of the bar counter.

It was no secret at the bar that he was hard-strapped for cash, having to take care of his grandpa by himself when his parents upped and ran away ten years ago. The bar, the owner, co-workers and even the regulars, supported him whenever there was an opportunity to earn a little more cash. He often took random temporary jobs when the pay was good. The owner’s grin signaled that he was good to go. The bartender glanced back at JJ. The other was still smiling idiotically, waiting to be acknowledged by him. The blond gave a loud sigh and brief nod, reaching out for his hand reluctantly.  
  
“Yuri.”  
  
Delighted with being graced with the other’s name, JJ shook Yuri’s hand even harder. “Ah, Yuri! What a beautiful name, as beautiful as you are,” he winked again, ignoring the exasperated cringing from the blond.  
  
Wringing his hand free from JJ's tight grip, Yuri took out his phone from his pockets. Might as well get his new temporary job over with. He was not one to cut corners even if the job scope was distasteful. “Where’s your hotel? I'll meet you outside tomorrow morning to pick you u-”

“ _Ahhh_ , about that…” JJ scratched his head, slightly abashed. A small smile. A sheepish adjustment of the watch on his hand. His awkward movements had Yuri tensing in trepidation. “I was hoping to stay over at your place… You know, just to get the full Russian experience of home!! Like couch surfing? You don't mind, right? Thanks!” JJ blubbered on excitedly, earlier embarrassment overcome, grasping Yuri’s hand in both of his in apparent gratefulness.

"Wh-what?!"

Was the initial embarrassment just for show on JJ’s part? The Canadian had the gall to rebound from the shame of his demanding request so quickly. The absurdity of the statement almost had Yuri dropping his phone. The pub owner, clearly entertained, was openly laughing from the other end now. Mustering up some brain cells to formulate some form of proper response but failing drastically, Yuri was left speechless. He missed the words of the owner who had came over, barely processing how the owner shook JJ's hand while cheerily giving encouragements. A hearty smack on his back shook him out of his blank state. 

_This is really happening._

Courtesy of a young, blond, Russian bartender, the sound of silence in the streets was broken by a loud yell punctuating the air.


End file.
